He's Not Superman

Some things are harder than others.

Josh liked watching Ileana sleep. He liked the way the pale sunlight broke through the curtains and bathed the room and her body in a light blue hue. He would watch the color grow stronger and brighter until it reflected off of her hair and eventually call her awake.

 

This morning, he looked over at the alarm clock and studied the numbers glowing in large red numbers back at him. Ileana had taught him the numbers but he couldn’t recall which ones were which. He yawned and tightened the comforter around his shoulders before glancing back at her as he guarded over her after another nightmare woke him up. He never remembered the dream when he awoke but his body remembered the fear.

 

“Josh?” Ileana’s groggy voice brought him back, making him turn to look at her again. He put his hand on her leg, squeezed it gently and gave her a grunt of reassurance before turning back to glare out the window as though an unseen predator lingered outside watching. “Come to bed.”

 

He felt her weight drawing near him until her hand rested on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder at her half-lidded eyes. She nodded back to the pillows and pulled on him gently. An odd amalgam of reluctance and willingness confused his mind as he followed her back to the head of the bed and watched her slip under the covers. She drew the covers down and patted the pillow beside hers, motioning for him to lay down beside her.

 

He watched her with wary eyes for only a moment before his exhaustion won over him. He dropped his own comforter to the floor and nestled down beside her, allowing her to tuck him in. He watched Moose stand and smell the blanket he had dropped before commandeering it to be his bed.

 

“Ana?” Josh opened his eyes wide as she rested her hand on his hip and tucked her head down in the pillow.

 

“Hmm?” She refused to open her aching eyes and wished silently for Josh to fall asleep for once since he started to live with her. He refused to answer as he remained ignorant of the fact that she had answered him. “Josh, what? It’s two in the morning. I know you’re tired. You need to sleep before you start micronapping. That’s not healthy for you. I’m seriously starting to consider some kind of medication to help you sleep.”

 

Words failed him. He knew what he wanted to ask her and why but the sentence wouldn’t form for his mouth to work properly. He sighed to himself, settling for something close enough to settle his curiosity. “Are you okay?”

 

She opened her eyes, searching his before she frowned. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m concerned about you is all. Are you okay?”

 

“Food?” He pressed his finger to her soft and warm stomach.

 

“You’re hungry?” She sat up enough to prop herself up on her elbow. She stroked the curls from his brow as he shook his head with a frown. He pressed her stomach again. “Oh. No. I’m not hungry. I’m gonna be okay, I promise. Go to sleep now, okay?”

 

He watched her lay down and snuggle under the covers again before closing her eyes. He was tired, he wanted to sleep but he didn’t want the dream to come again.

Her hand found his hip again and held him gently. His chief would protect him. This idea lulled Josh to sleep that would last well into the next afternoon.

 

 

“Certain things stick with him but he struggles with other things.”

 

“Well, that’s good. He’s not Superman.”

 

“Rafe, please? I think that he’s also reliving something and it’s something that terrifies him. He’s having night terrors daily. Last night was the first night he’s actually slept for more than a couple of hours at a time.” Ileana chewed on a piece of celery the next afternoon as she brought together a lunch, anticipating Josh awaking at any moment. “I think we need to do a sleep study on him.”

 

“You can’t see what a person dreams with one of those boss.” Rafe’s voice reminded her from the other end of the line.

 

“I know that. I’m worried that the forest sounds worry him. He doesn’t like going outside at night and I don’t want to force him into something. I don’t know what he’s fully capable of doing now that he’s got all of his strength back and I honestly don’t want to find out this way.” She stirred the homemade tomato soup and sipped slowly on the bubbling liquid for flavor. “He never had a problem with sleep when we were still at the lab.”

 

“You think you’ll have to move?” Rafe’s voice filled with worry and trepidation. “But where would you go that it’s quiet at night? There’s always something moving around. You love the mountains and the cold and the madness that goes with it.”

 

“I know but I have to do what’s best for Josh at least until he can be familiarized with nocturnal animals and realize that nothing out there can hurt us.”

 

“Apart from bears.” Rafe corrected. “Moose can get pretty weird too. You have coyotes and wolves too. Raccoons have rabies. That would put a damper on your night. Get bit by one of those nasty b******s.”

 

“Rafe! Please. I get your point, thank you.” Ileana pinched the bridge of her nose and jumped when something pressed into her stomach. Her eyes flew open and saw Josh standing before her, wrapped in his comforter despite the fact that it had been used as a dog bed the night before. “I gotta go. Set up the lab for me, would you please?”

 

“Wilco, boss!” With that, Rafe ended the call.

 

“Thanks for not interrupting me this time, Josh.” She set the phone down on the counter as Moose raised his head to smell the hot pot. “Lunch is almost ready. Are you hungry?”

 

“Good for….” He narrowed his eyes as he searched her face for the words. “Good for blood sugar!”

 

She smiled and nodded; proud of him as any teacher would be their pupil. “Yes, food is good for blood sugar. It’s good for both of our blood sugars in fact. Go get washed up and then you can help me set the table okay?”